How to Make an App | 8 Phases for Enterprise Mobile App Development

Everyone wants to know how to make an app. The meteoric rise of the app market is certainly astounding; according to Flurry Analytics, approximately eight apps are launched daily for iOS and Android devices.  As of June 2014, there were 1.2 million mobile apps in Apple’s App Store alone.
Because it’s so important to get it right the first time, there must be a careful ramp-up to building an app, especially at the enterprise level.  The approach we take with mobile app projects at AIM Consulting is to build a mobile app in phases, each with multiple steps.

PHASE 1: PRE-PLANNING FOR HOW TO BUILD AN APP

The first phase of any project is often the most important.  When building a mobile app, it’s critical to take the time to go through the necessary planning steps.

Step 1: Define the project and create use cases.  Create a written definition of your app idea that clearly spells out what it will do, who the users are and why they will care about it. Make sure you can answer the question “why does this app need to exist?” What unique problem does it solve? Will the app simplify payment transactions for customers? Will it increase productivity for field agents? What is the business case? Use this information to create use cases to guide the project.

Step 2: Do your research.  Is there already an app on the market similar to the one you are thinking to build?  If so, how can you do it better?

PHASE 2: MENTAL PROTOTYPING / DISCOVERY

A mental prototype is a brainstorm to help define a concept in visual terms.  It’s the first opportunity to start to see how the app might evolve…and to get a reality check.

Step 3: Involve the development team or technical architect.  Ideally, the development team is involved at the beginning of the project, but if the technical people who are actually going to build your mobile app aren’t already on board, now’s the time to bring them in. This is when you can determine if your idea is feasible, can be successful and what expectations you should have for time and budget.

Step 4: Storyboard.  With the use cases you created in Phase 1, create rough sketches of the idea on a sketchpad, whiteboard, or template tiles. This is the first visual representation of all the screens and will help uncover usability issues.

PHASE 3: TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT

It’s not enough to have cool interactions and an understanding of the visuals. You need to consider whether the back-end systems will actually support the app’s functionality. For basic assessment of technical feasibility, you must do the following:

Step 5: Get access to the data. Your mobile app needs to access usable data. Figuring this out could be as simple as sourcing a Public APIs or as complicated as building your own abstraction layer.

Step 6: Determine what devices you are building your app for. An app will have different requirements depending on its platform (iOS, Android, etc.) as well as the format (smartphone, tablet, wearables, etc.). At AIM Consulting, we recommend Native development for an optimal user experience tailored to a specific platform.

Step 7: Refine project definition and establish go-to-market strategy. By the end of this phase, the team may have new ideas for the app or have determined that some of the initial functionality isn’t feasible.  At this point, take some time to brainstorm, ask questions and review the status.

PHASE 4: TACTILE REFINEMENT OF USE CASES

It’s very difficult to define the touch experience without being able to touch the app and experience how it works and flows.  Phase 4 is about just that.

Step 8: Build a rapid prototype.  “Rapid” is the operative word – build a prototype that gets the app concept into a user’s hands as quickly as possible so you can see how it works for the most common use case.  Use rough, not exhaustive, wireframes.
Bring your stakeholders in to touch the prototype to garner feedback as early as possible.

PHASE 5: DESIGN YOUR APP AND PREPARE FOR DEVELOPMENT

Now is when the real work begins:

Step 9: Design for the user experience. Before you dive into code, you must design.  A User Experience (UX) Designer can create the interaction architecture of the design elements.  A User Interface (UI) Designer for mobile solutions can create the look and feel of your app. This is a multistep process with its own review stages. The end result is visual direction and blueprints that inform your engineers of the envisioned final product and how interaction should feel, move and flow.

PHASE 6: BUILD YOUR MOBILE APP WITH AGILE PRACTICES

The strategy is complete, the stage is set, and you have your design.  It is now time to build an app!

Step 10: Agile Development. Agile is the preferred approach for mobile development due the importance of collaboration, transparency, and rapid iteration to adapt to change.  These practices of adapting to change are critical to finding success in the ever-evolving mobile channel.

PHASE 7: TEST YOUR MOBILE APP

Congratulations! You have built an app. Now it’s time to get some of your target users to help you test it.

Step 11: UAT testing.  User acceptance testing is a process to discover whether your mobile app works for users. In other words, put your app in the hands of a few people in your target audience. Once your app has passed the UAT test, you know that the solution “works”.

Step 12: BETA testing.  Make your app available for a beta trial, either through an open solicitation for participants or the enrolment of previously identified groups. Feedback from beta users will help you determine whether or not the app’s functions are operating well in a real-world environment.

PHASE 8: LAUNCH – YOU BUILT AN APP!

Your app is complete and ready to submit. Pick a day and key up a formal launch. Congratulations! You have learned how to build an app!
Keep in mind, this is not the end. Every app requires updates and new features during the mobile application development lifecycle. Typically, the development cycle begins anew as soon as the first version of the app is released. Ensure you have the resources to maintain your product.  If you are working with an outside vendor to build your app, as we at AIM Consulting do for our clients, make sure that you will have continued access to the mobile development team through a managed services agreement or similar partnership after the app is launched. A mobile app is not a “set it and forget it” type of project. Like any other technology, it will require skilled people to continually build new enhancements, fix problems, and ultimately ensure its success to your business.

Read more...

10 Things to Plan for When Developing a Mobile App

Many companies have mobile apps at the top of their to-do lists, but while churning out a quick app is fairly straightforward, developing a strategic application or digital “solution” is considerably more complex. Smart planning is essential.
Here are 10 things to consider before developing your app.

1. Agree on goals for the program.

When developing a digital solution strategy, first examine your organization’s goals for the program. Are you looking to be seen as innovator, or fend off competition by showing progress in the space? Simply showing initial momentum and previewing the future roadmap can often place you ahead of the competition. Should your digital solutions help build customer loyalty and enable greater customer self-service, or is your highest priority to create new revenue streams? Once you’ve agreed on the goals, prioritize them so you’ll know where to start.

2. Understand your target users.

The next step is to understand who your target users are, their goals and requirements, and the technologies they use. This process includes researching the platforms your users are most likely utilizing, then gaining an understanding of each user experience. Every device is different, and every user has multiple needs. For example, a person might typically use an online banking application to pay a bill, but he might use the bank’s mobile application to find the closest ATM.

3. Build a user testing focus group.

Spending time with your target users is the only way to ensure you really understand what they are looking for in a mobile application. As you move through the process of discovery, you can discuss ideas with this group on a daily basis. Focus groups can provide value from the far beyond the initial discovery phase.

4. Identify a minimally viable solution set.

Don't try to tackle the whole problem at once. Instead, companies should identify a minimally viable solution and start there. In other words, release a basic but functional app as a foundation, then take advantage of the efficient upgrade paths most devices offer to provide regular updates. This enables you to enter the market more quickly and refine as needed. Plus, periodically giving your users access to new developments ensures your organization stays top-of-mind.

5. Plan for multiple releases.

With mobile applications, releasing the initial version is only the beginning. Statistics show that many users will re-engage with your application when new features are added. Spread key functionality across the first handful of releases to keep your users engaged. Be careful not to release too often, lest users feel bombarded. In many cases, a 2-3 month window between major releases will keep your users engaged over a longer period of time.

6. Balance your users and your business.

Balancing business drivers with real user needs can be difficult. In many cases, the two are at odds with one another. Therefore, arm yourself with the right information to make smart trade-offs. Collect research such as user studies, expert opinions, and business viability and technical feasibility studies. This body of data can then be weighed to achieve the best balance between user-centric solutions and business-value gains.

7. Know what is out there.

Spend time exploring apps in each of the platforms you plan to support. Each platform offers different interface paradigms and a different collection of applications. Experimenting with the most popular applications will help you understand not only what is possible on the platform, but also the user's expectations. If possible, use a different mobile platform device during the exploration process.

8. Bring your IT team into the discussions early.

The far greater technical challenge is tying your backend business processes to a digital solution that encompasses smartphones and kiosks, for example. The technology infrastructure for a multichannel solution goes well beyond the platform you choose for front-end development. In order to be successful, companies must consider how to architect data delivery and API management as well as security, scalability, content aggregation, device optimization, API translation, etc. Bring your IT team into the discussion before you get too far down the planning path.

9. Decide on a technology you can live (and grow) with.

As the mobile space matures, there will be many more application develop choices. In many cases, your goals will help determine what you choose here. For example, if your goal is to reach as many users as possible across all platforms, you may choose an HTML framework with little hardware integration. If your goal is to provide deep hardware integration for augmented reality technology, then you'll probably develop a native application. Decisions around technology can directly affect your app's functionality.

10. Plan to analyze.

The final step in the process is determining how to measure success. With a morass of potential features, devices, platforms and technologies, success can be challenging to define, but it will affect your ultimate strategy. Consider the following questions.

• Will this increase our transaction volume and, therefore, revenue?
• Will this increase customer adoption and retention?
• Will this increase our brand recognition and loyalty?
• Will this decrease our costs?
• How many people do we want using our app?
• How do we want to integrate the solution with our social media program?
• How will we integrate with our existing analytics tools?

Read more...